Celebration of the patron saint and 100 years since the founding of the parish


This year, the parish of Teslić celebrated its heavenly patron St. Joseph, March 19th, in the special atmosphere of the 100th anniversary of its founding. The central Holy Mass was led by the Archbishop of Belgrade, Msgr. Stanislav Hočevar.

Nine priests concelebrated, among whom was the parish priest, rev. Ivan Ravlić, who greeted those present at the beginning. The Holy Mass was attended by about 450 believers, both from this parish and from the surrounding religious communities of the Usora Deanery.

In his sermon, Archbishop Hočevar emphasized that St. Joseph, with his silence, sends great messages and that he is “a medicine sent for present time and for people”. “He was a mature man and fully aware of his calling. Men today are not fulfilling their role given to them by God (...) Men have lost their sense of God and therefore lose their sense of family”, said the Belgrade Archbishop, emphasizing that Joseph was the greatest husband of all time and had the spirit of God’s love for Mary. “That’s why he was extremely careful with her. If there is no love, then we do not see the need of our neighbours. Out of love, God gave the role to Joseph to be the guardian and guardian of his Son”, said Msgr. Hočevar encouraging those present to “promise Joseph that there will be no hatred in our families, neighbourhoods and among nations”.

“We have given in to hatred and prejudice, so in this way, destructive for us, we are wasting our time. He is a model for all our social issues and for the protection of man, so we follow him ", concluded Archbishop Hočevar.

The singing was animated by the married couple Josip and Martina Tirić.

The Eucharist was filmed by the RTRS team and local television, which will show a report from the celebration. Unfortunately, although invited, the representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church from Teslić did not respond. Parish priest Ravlić, as many can testify, works tirelessly in the field of ecumenism, but there is no answer from the other side.

After the Eucharist, the socialising continued in a nearby restaurant.

Finally, it is important to emphasize that the jubilee celebration of the century since the founding of the community of believers, will be on Sunday, April 3rd.